I. Stefan Begins to Investigate Helena (1/17)
Laura: "Do you think she would try to hurt Nikolas?"
Stefan: "No, no, she's far more likely to strike back at me through you."
Laura: "Oh, god, no."
Stefan: "Well, if I plan to kill or poison her, you'll be the first to know."
Laura: "Is that a joke?"
Stefan: "Well, there are other ways to thwart my mother."
Laura: "Just promise me you won't lie to me this time because I can't do that one again."
Stefan: "Oh, you won't. You won't have to. I know you need honesty. That is what I will give you."
Stefan: "You're determined not to investigate her, aren't you?"
Mac: "I'm determined not to get my department mixed up in the middle of some domestic squabble amongst the Cassadines. Faison had plenty of reason to be in Port Charles, including business with Luke Spencer. Lo, if you're interested in finding out what connection and dealings your mother had with Faison, why don't you go bother him?"
Amy: "I'm caught up, can you believe it? Now for Laura. I've said, a couple of times recently, that Laura's insistence on honesty from Stefan can be read as her looking for an excuse to distance herself from him. But I don't think that's how it's supposed to be working, though that's how it's worked, so far, when I see it on the screen--and I haven't been really happy about it."
"I think today didn't clear that up, but it sure did go a long way towards Laura articulating what she does think about honesty, though still in a way that I think people might understand differently than I do. I think it could appear that Laura chides Stefan for his dishonesty because she gets lies from Luke and she can't stand them from another partner--that lies are Luke's fault (and Stefan's fault), and not hers, that she's punishing Stefan for what she's done herself."
"But I think it's quite the contrary. I think that she's trying very hard to be completely honest with Stefan--to the point that she looks very much like a woman still unwilling to go forward (and maybe she is). And she wants the same from him--not because she can't stand to be lied to anymore, but because she's very much aware that one of the main things that ruined her marriage was lies (though her own unwillingness to choose still dominates the divorce as the last straw, for me)."
"I loved her line: 'I can't do that one again.' Not, 'I can't stand for you to lie to me again.' No, in fact, Stefan doesn't even appear in the sentence. She was speaking of lies in a relationship--from two people. And it didn't, for once, seem critical of her relationship with Luke. I really liked that."
"Add her discussion of honesty continues in the conversation with Roy, in which we see that she isn't angry with what is hidden from her--it's not the fact of the secret that upsets her, but with the fact that Luke is hiding something. She doesn't really want to know the truth; she regrets that she's an outsider to him, that he protects her, just as Stefan is doing now."
"The tenses were interesting in that dialogue--she spoke in the present tense ('Luke keeps things from me,' 'Luke doesn't tell me things'), rather than referencing past lies. That's interesting because it keeps their relationship in the present, and it means that she's concerned with what's going on with them now, not with condemning him for past lies. But her talk with Roy also showed that she understands why he does it, but she just wishes that she were still a part of his life. My question for her would be whether she remembers their life together as a relationship in which he lied to protect her, or always told her the truth. Oddly enough, I'm betting she's remembering life before the lies."
"The comparison of the two liars, Stefan and Luke, means that she's no longer condemning either one to make it ok for her to stay with the other--and she's done both in the past, seen them in the worst light possible so she can reassure herself that she's supposed to be with the other one, etc. But it also seems to mean that she's trying to achieve an honest relationship with both of them--to start over, in a way. Interestingly enough, Laura's been very honest on that score with Stefan. She tells him that she can't take lying between them, and that she still loves Luke (loves both of them), and that she's trying to move on but finds it hard, etc. On the flip side, she does not chide Luke for not telling her everything (she chides Roy instead, knowing, perhaps, that it will get back to Luke), nor does she tell him that she still loves him (loves both of them). It's as though she's more comfortable being honest with Stefan about her feelings, perhaps because she's more sure of him, or perhaps because she risks less telling him the whole truth (and keeping him at arm's length) than she would with Luke. With Luke, she risks either rejection ('But I don't love you, Laura, I love somebody else.') or the realization that he does still love her, and that he's still a viable choice--putting her back in that spot she hates and yet misses so much...having to choose between them."
II. Helena Remains Assured of her Victory (1/17, 1/18)
Helena: "A word of advice, Mrs. Ashton--it isn't wise to intrude in matters that don't concern you."
Chloe: "But my life does concern me and I don't enjoy having it threatened."
Helena: "Then don't go running around antagonizing people, my dear."
Jax: "One last thing--you approach my wife or Mrs. Ashton again and you'll discover just how bad an enemy I can be."
Helena: "How ruthless. What a pity it's wasted on Alexis and that insipid blond."
Stefan: "Talking to yourself, mother? No doubt a sign of encroaching senility. Perhaps I should speak to your doctors about having you committed."
Helena sat with Andreas at the Grill, but she noticed when Jax entered. Crack me up. On the second day, she would remain bright and cheerful when speaking to Jax, but when Chloe talked, she turned to her purse. I should carry a purse when I watch the show.
Helena: "Doesn't Laura give you anything to think about at all?"
Helena: "It's not nice when ungrateful sons paralyze their mother. She can get awfully cross."
Stefan: "You don't usually hire accomplices."
Helena: "There is that word again."
Stefan: "The body count alone frightens most of them away. But to bring in someone as sophisticated and dangerous as Faison--"
Helena: "Faison was a dear man, greatly misunderstood."
Stefan: "Katherine must have been incidental."
Helena: "Now, there you've lost me."
Stefan: "And then there's Luke."
Helena: "One of my favorite people."
Stefan: "He, too, was involved with Faison. Now Luke has disappeared."
Helena: "Honestly, Stefan, don't you have anything better to contemplate? Your health, for example? I mean, the idea that a child of mine could poison me--sometimes children should be punished severely and without warning. Although surprising you doesn't present much of a challenge."
Stefan: "I don't mind if you underestimate me, mother. It makes everything so much easier."
I wasn't as thrilled with these scenes as I typically am. My favorite part, actually, was Helena's little digs on Laura. But this seemed to retread things we've seen before. It did give me time to write in my notes that, for several days now, Stefan's been sporting a full beard.
III. Stefan Asks for Alexis's Help (1/18)
Alexis: "So, how's your mother?"
Stefan: "I need your help. Again."
Alexis: "I hardly ever see Luke anymore."
Stefan: "Do you have any idea how Luke and Faison could be connected?"
Alexis: "No, I don't, and I don't know why you're asking me. Why don't you ask Laura?"
Stefan: "Laura could be a target. So could Nikolas. I believe Helena is connected to both Luke and Faison."
Alexis: "Well, but that's what I don't understand. If Faison is dead, you know that Luke and Helena didn't do this together."
Stefan: "My mother has put a grand scheme in place. I need to uncover it before anyone gets hurt."
Alexis: "There was a time when I would've done anything for you, brave little soldier running right into the fray."
Stefan: "And now?"
Alexis: "If I knew anything about Luke and Faison, I would tell you. If I hear anything about them, I will tell you."
Alexis: "I'm not interested in Helena anymore. I don't care. She doesn't matter to me."
Stefan: "I wish that were true."
Alexis: "My life has changed. I have a husband. I have friends. I have people who love me and, by some miracle, I can love them back. Who knew?"
Stefan: "That's all anyone wants."
Alexis: "Not easy for a Cassadine."
Stefan: "We're your family, too."
Alexis: "Only when you want something."
Stefan: "Touché. But, Alexis, you and I want the same things--a family, someone to love who loves you back."
Alexis: "So don't give up."
Stefan: "If you have broken free of the Cassadines, you're the first."
Alexis: "Wish me luck."
Stefan: "Yes, I do."
Alexis: "You, too."
What I did like in these episodes was something that would continue and grow in future months: a tentative connection between Alexis and Stefan. They would even fall into old conversations as he brought her in on the Lucky business. But even these weren't as sparkly as they once were, as happy as I was to see the Cassadine clan getting back together in some form.
The most interesting thing here was the talk of family. Stefan holds out the promise of connectedness as a Cassadine, but Alexis isn't falling for it (yet) because she has a new family in Ned, Chloe, and Jax.
IV. Stefan Warns Nikolas (1/20)
Helena: "Well, I thought you might have changed your mind now that I've been acquitted of all charges in your poor fiancé's murder. And now, perhaps, the police will re-examine your uncle's culpability in this matter. He did confess, after all. And you know very well the lengths he will go to to keep you from being with any woman he finds unsuitable."
Helena: "And to you, my dear, I am most grateful. You made my grandson smile."
Stefan: "If you really want him to smile, you'll leave."
Helena: "I'm sure you're unhappy to find Nikolas with me. Or Ms. Webber. My sympathies, my darling. Your uncle is no doubt about to launch into one of his diatribes on the kind of woman who is appropriate for the Cassadine heir. And don't let him intimidate you, my darling. It highly unlikely that he would kill two unsuitable women in a row."
Elizabeth: "Oh, my god. My bracelet. The bracelet Lucky gave me. I have to find it."
Nikolas: "Wait, wait, wait."
Elizabeth: "Oh--that's it. That's it. Oh, man. The clasp broke."
Nikolas: "Well, we can--we can fix that."
Elizabeth: "I don't know what I'd have done if I lost this."
Nikolas: "Well, have you decided what movie you want to see?"
Elizabeth: "Oh, well, something upbeat, something where just when you think all hope is lost, love triumphs after all."
Yet again we have some pale echo of scenes between Lucky and Elizabeth. We have them with Juan and Emily all the time, and now we had Elizabeth's bracelet fall off again--for what, the 3rd time? And I thought this was a lead-in to Elizabeth and Nikolas getting together somewhat romantically before Lucky's return, but that was not to be. I was surprisingly relieved at that, as both of these characters are starting to wear thin with me.
V. Helena Make Plans to Visit Lucky (1/24)
Helena: "Oh, my dear, sweet, Andreas. I'll miss you."
Andreas: "It's only one night."
Helena: "Oh, the sacrifices I make for our young guest."
Stefan watched as Helena met with Andreas. She greeted Andy with a kiss on the lips, and I wondered that we didn't get some kind of visceral reaction from Stefan--a raised eyebrow, something! Of course, he was in the corner where you can hear as well as see.... Andreas watched as Helena left. Too cute.